Reflecting on the Past

This story is part 4 of a series of chapters written for various challenges. Click here to read the last chapter.

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Today she was working on a gorgeous vintage bike. It was an easy job, just cleaning the spark plugs and checking on a hiccup that her client had noticed. So far, there didn’t seem to be anything seriously wrong with the motorcycle. She liked days like this, where she could split her focus between the task at hand and the racing thoughts that were going on in the background.

Seeing Cole again after all this time had been a shock. Hearing him struggle to tell her about his accident, and witnessing the pain he was suffering made everything seem so real. They had talked for a long time, long past the time that Nancy would have normally closed the diner, and she was sure there was still so much missing from the story. He had talked about life on the circuit, the various ranches he had worked on, long days training with the horses, and hot steamy nights. He talked about the fast pace, what winning felt like, the fans who followed him, and the homesickness that kept him longing for home.

Her heart ached for the boy that she knew, and for the man who had sat across from her, struggling to tell her all that happened. She had been sure he was leaving a large portion out; she had seen it in the shadows in his eyes. There were ghosts there, and she wasn’t sure how to deal with them.

She had spent the night, after they had gone their separate ways, re-reading the articles she had clipped about his career. The shallow articles showed a young cowboy with a cocky grin as he made a name for himself, gaining a reputation within the circuit. Then came the accident. The newspapers had really glossed over that part. She had known of course that one of the cowboys had been killed, but she hadn’t known that Cole had been right in the thick of things, nor had she known that Cole had been friends with the other man. There were only a few mentions about Cole after that day, the reporters wondering what would happen now to the formerly rising star. No one knew and they were waiting to see what would happen next. So was she.

He'd asked her to stand by him, to become his family again, what did he mean that? She couldn’t tell. Did he just want friendship, or was he asking for more? He’d said he wanted her to be there with him as he rebuilt his life; what did that look like for him? She was afraid. She wasn’t sure she could handle just being his friend, not when she had been in love with him for most of her life. She decided to call Max, maybe she could shed some light on the subject.

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She hung up the phone after having talked to Maxine for about an hour. Marcie wasn’t sure whether she’d gotten clarity or just more confused. Maxine couldn’t answer some of the more pressing questions. She hadn’t been with her brother constantly for the last nine years. She couldn’t read his mind the same way she had been able to when they were kids.

Marcie had always been a little bit envious of their close bond. Losing her baby brother when she was 7 had left a gaping hole in her family. Her brother was gone, her parents divorced, and her mother fell into a bottle. She had always been grateful that the McAllisters had taken her under their wing, giving her a place where she belonged, a place of safety and shelter, a place to grow and flourish. She grew up with Maxine and Cole, and eventually her feelings for Cole shifted from a warm brotherly love to a deep and passionate love.

She had never told him about the way she felt, sure the three of them had talked and dreamed about getting older together, about how they would form their own companies, and amass their fortunes together. But she had never told him her dreams included being his wife.

Looking around her, she thought about the way things had turned out: she had her shop and she felt like she was making a good name for herself. Max had gotten married a couple of years ago and they were expecting their first baby; her bakery was now more of a side hustle for her, she had staff, and she was looking forward to being able to take a break and become a mother full-time. And Cole.. well Cole was home now, injured and heartsick and looking to start a horse therapy farm for retired rodeo horses. She shook her head. How different life had become compared to the one that they had envisioned together as children. She wondered what kind of man Cole had grown into.

She was looking forward to finding out..

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